Chef Profiles
Chef Andrew McNaughton:
Chef Andrew is a graduate of the prestigious Stratford Chef School. He shares a love of cooking and experimenting as well as understanding the potential food has to offer. Andrew seeks local and seasonal ingredients, this is where he finds his inspiration. Chef Andrew is creative and passionate about food. His eye for detail comes out when admiring his beautiful, thoughtful courses.
Chef Paresh Thakkar:
Chef Paresh Thakkar is the owner of Personal Touch Eatery & Catering. He opened the business in 2011 after completing the Culinary Management program at Fanshawe College and working at restaurants/catering business in London, Sarnia and Canmore, AB. Personal Touch is located at 144 Mitton St. South in Sarnia, Ontario and is (currently) open Tuesday to Friday, 11-5:30.
The eatery’s menu includes eclectic sandwiches, a themed entrée, and ever changing soups, salads, and dips. "It’s fun to create different flavours and to change it up". Features are inspired based on what Chef Paresh finds at the farmer’s market. Alongside the Eatery, Paresh offers a variety of catering experiences, from in-home private dinners to weddings, cooking classes and more. He doesn’t have set menus as he loves to create a unique experience each time. Operating Personal Touch gives him the creative freedom to cook unique dishes with global flavours.
Chef Paresh had the opportunity to compete on Chopped Canada on the Food Network in 2016. He was able to rally the community together for a watch party raising money for 3 local charities.
Chef Joe Paquette:
Chef Joe has had 20 plus years of experience in the food industry, and he graduated from Stratford Chef School. Chef Joe is currently the owner/operator of Joe Paquette Catering (local to the area) and teaches at Lambton college in the Culinary program. Chef Joe Paquette specializes in weddings, house parties, and cooking classes and LOVES to customize menus to meet each clients needs.
Chef Thaddeus Gorski:
Thaddeus is a red seal chef turned Accountant. His love of food has never left him. He has worked all over including Vineland Estate Winery, Fairmont Chateau Whistler, Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise and most recently worked at Abruzzi Restaurant in London. His artistic plates will amaze your eyes and delight your palette.
Oystertaker Anthony Wing:
Anthony is a Concert pianist & world class oyster shucker. He considers himself an oyster ‘celebrant’ bringing tastes of the world to his hometown and Southwestern Ontario. Anthony has competed Nationally and Internationally in shucking competitions, and is a master at his craft calling oyster shucking a ‘performance Art’. Anthony was titled “The Oystertaker” by a well respected colleague in the oyster shucking industry and he ran with it. He makes all his own delicious condiments and is proud of his quince jam, rightly so. Anthony will educate you, teach you and test you.
Chef Tyler Acher:
Growing up, Tyler was the kind of kid that was constantly being told not to play with his food. Now that he has grown the only thing that has changed is that he is now being paid to play with his food.
Chef Tyler comes to the cheese wedge bringing 20+ years of experience to the table. With what started as a job in his high school cafeteria, lead to a successful career working his way through 4 -diamond restaurants in Niagara-on-the-Lake. Tyler has now returned to his home town and he works as an instructor for the culinary management program at Lambton College and he also brews beer at Imperial City Brew House. Needless to say, he is passionate to his craft and is looking forward to sharing his favorite recipes and some of his all-time favorite dishes with you.
Before booking hop over to his Instagram @_tbone.a_ and let the food and presentation speak for itself and keep posted for his upcoming dinner events.
Chef Steve Hunter:
Steve Hunter worked as a Chef starting with his work in line kitchens in the early 2000s. He went on to attend Humber College and followed into an apprenticeship working in Banff, Vancouver, and Montreal.
After years of training in kitchens across Canada, he moved over to Australia and worked as a Chef de Parti on the Sunshine Coast and in Sydney. After an initial couple of years overseas, he decided to step out of kitchens and move around as a full-time backpacker. Since then, he's managed to cross nearly 90 countries hitch-hiking and walking, exploring cultural hospitality through many incredible hosts.
Having worked in Spain and walked the Camino de Santiago six weeks across the northwestern part of the country, he was able to learn quite a bit about the food culture in the country.
Chef Angela Toye:
I've always been a home cook and baker but it wasn’t until I came back to Canada from a year of traveling the South Pacific and South East Asia that I started cooking in professional kitchens. After getting my first job as a cook and realizing I had a knack for making food, I decided to go to the Canadian Food and Wine Institute to hone my skills. After graduating I moved to Ottawa where I spent the past several years working in fine dining, bakeries and volunteering/fundraising for a local womans shelter. While I have worked every station from pastry to saucier, I love making pasta from scratch and finding new shapes to make. Since the pandemic, I have split my time between cooking and designing websites. When I’m not doing either of those, I’m either rock climbing, kayaking or hanging out with my cat Giuseppe.
People can view some of the food I've made on my Instagram @ange.toye.